Saving, cutting debt are main goals for 2012

Most Floridians are like those polled in a new survey: They want to cut their debt this year, according to Greg Jensen, a Sunrise-based managing partner of New York Life Insurance CO. that commissioned the poll.

Most Americans in the poll are concerned around their financial future. Only 30 percent polled believe their family will be more financially secure in the year ahead and just 24 percent think they will be in better financial shape for retirement.

Many South Floridians are especially interested in preparing for retirement. Baby Boomers make up the largest demographic in South Florida. The oldest are retirement age now and the youngest are 15 to 20 years away.

"They know they need to be in control of their retirement planning, that they should be consistently saving, that it is their own personal responsibility," Jensen said. "They know that some of the safety nets might not be there" by the time they retire.

One way to prepare for retirement is to figure out monthly costs and then compare that to how much the Social Security payment will be, Jensen said. People will probably need to make up the difference with their own savings since most won't have pensions, Jensen said.

"They need to guarantee that basic expenses will be taken care of," he said.

Two cross-dressing men who were fired upon by National Security Agency police when they disobeyed orders at a heavily guarded gate had just stolen a car from a man who had picked them up and checked into a motel, police said Tuesday.

The upcoming NFL draft is going to offer strong options at the running back position through at least the middle rounds but that isn’t stopping the Chicago Bears from adding some depth at the position.

Arkansas lawmakers have given final approval to a religious-freedom bill that has drawn sharp criticism from opponents who say it opens the door to state-sanctioned discrimination against gays and lesbians.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth on Tuesday criticized Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk as "irresponsible" for recently signing an open letter to the government of Iran regarding ongoing nuclear talks.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said Tuesday that he wants legislation on his desk by the end of the week to clarify that the state's new religious-freedom law does not allow discrimination against gays and lesbians.